LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Tuesday announced to start a ‘long march’ from Lahore to Islamabad on Friday (October 28).
The ‘Haqeeqi Azadi’ march will begin from Liberty Chowk at 11 am and I will lead it to the Capital through GT Road, he said while addressing a press conference here.
However, he said that there was no timeframe for the conclusion of the long march.
To a question, he assured that the protest march will be peaceful. “We have given instructions to everyone to remain peaceful. We are not going to break the law or go into the Red Zone; whatever will happen in Islamabad, it will be according to what the courts have permitted us,” he added
He also claimed that this march will be the biggest in the history of this country. He said that this has nothing to do with politics; “we are fighting for the future of our country”. He invited the entire nation to join it; “the people belonging to all walks of life should participate in it for ‘real freedom’ of the country”.
He was of the view that this was a ‘jihad’ for real independence, which will decide the fate of this country. “We have to decide now whether we want to get rid of ‘thieves’ or be their slaves,” he added.
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He recalled that when he led a long march to the federal capital last time, the federal government launched an attack on peaceful protesters. If he did not call off the march the following morning it could have led to chaos, he added.
He was of the view that after the by-elections in July, the government panicked and thus started lodging cases against him, registering around 24 cases, and added that it also registered cases against other PTI leaders. “The government also launched a crackdown on media to silence them, including arrest and assault on Imran Riaz Khan, harassing Sami Ibrahim, and now the murder of Arshad Sharif,” he added.
He praised the late journalist Arshad Sharif by saying that the deceased was a true patriot. “The entire journalist community knows that Sharif had stood up for the country; people were also aware that two members of Sharif’s family had been martyred,” he added.
Referring to his political opponents, the PTI Chairman said that ‘dacoits’ saved themselves after assuming power and amended selected laws, especially the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Ordinance,” he added.
Responding to a question, Khan said that when he had taken office as the Prime Minister, Pakistan was suffering from the worst economic situation. He blamed the coalition government for ruining the economy; “when were pushed out of power, we left a healthy economy”. “Record taxes were collected during our tenure and my government also fought the Coronavirus pandemic.
When I came into power, the country had no foreign exchange reserves to support the falling rupee and my government also had to deal with the Coronavirus pandemic. Once the country successfully overcame the COVID-19 pandemic, it saw exemplary growth, one which had not been witnessed in the last 17 years. We made efforts to help the farmers’ community and as a result, they were able to grow high-quality crops. Our IT exports increased three-fold due to the PTI government’s policies,” he added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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